Photo Credit: AP Photo/Derik Hamilton
After having 11 days off due to concerns over the coronavirus and the league mandated holiday break, the Flyers set out on their post Christmas western road trip in hopes of building on their five-game point streak. Unfortunately, it was just another stretch of games that left many wondering where the Flyers would go from here. While it was an underwhelming road trip for the Flyers, their were some things to build on.
Over the four-game stretch in which the Flyers faced the Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks, they came away with a record of 1-1-2.
During those four games, the Flyers were outscored 16-8, outshot 146-113 and quite frankly outplayed for the majority of all four games.
The injury bug and the coronavirus didn’t make things any easier for the Flyers either. They were without goaltender Carter Hart and forward Scott Laughton for the first three games of the road trip. Their number one center in Sean Couturier was placed on IR and to top it off captain Claude Giroux and top pair defenseman Ivan Provorov were placed on the NHL’s Covid-19 protocol list prior to Tuesday nights game versus Anaheim.
As of right now, the Flyers sit in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 13-15-6. A road trip that the Flyers had hoped to continue their recent success on turned ugly and has set them back even further in the standings. However, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Lets examine the positives that can be taken away from the Flyers trip out West.
Cam York stands out versus Anaheim
With the Flyers having to deal with multiple players out due to being placed on the NHL’s Covid-19 protocol list, one of the Flyers top prospects made his season debut versus the Anaheim Ducks in the Flyers fourth and final game of their four game road trip out West.
York, who was drafted by the Flyers 14th overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, is a smooth skater who has high offensive upside as a defenseman. He has the ability to make quick decisions with the puck leading to good breakout passes and his Hockey IQ is said to be very high by many.
While it was a very underwhelming performance for the Flyers against Anaheim this past Tuesday, the young defenseman was one of the lone bright spots for the Orange and Black.
On Tuesday night, York showed his smooth skating ability often jumping up on the rush offensively. He finished the game with a total ice time of 20:20 minutes. He added three shots on goal, registered two hits and added two blocked shots to top things off.
Some are concerned with the size of the 21-year-old defenseman and rightfully so. He’s only 5′ 11″, 175 lbs. The concern has to do with him being taken off of the puck too easily because of his size. He’ll definitely have to continue to put on some weight so that he can better protect the puck.
There’s no telling whether or not he’ll stick around once the Flyers get healthy again, but he’s definitely someone the Flyers think very highly of. He’ll be around the Flyers organization and playing meaningful hockey games for the Orange and Black for years to come.
Felix Sandstrom stands tall in his NHL debut
Due to Carter Hart being placed on the NHL’s Covid-19 protocol list and backup goaltender Martin Jones making the start between the pipes the night before versus the Seattle Kraken, the 24-year-old goaltender got his first taste of the NHL versus the San Jose Sharks.
Sandstrom was drafted in the third round, 70th overall, of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He’s no doubt the Flyers’ most highly touted goalie prospect.
The Flyers looked flat in their second game of what was a four game road trip out West following the league mandated holiday break. They managed to squeak out one of a possible two points in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Sharks.
A big part of that was due to the play of Sandstrom. He stopped 43 of 46 shots fired his way and kept the Flyers in the hockey game even when they probably didn’t deserve it.
One of his biggest saves came in the second period on Sharks forward Timo Meier. With the Sharks already leading 2-1 in the second period, Sandstrom made a big pad save to keep it a one goal game. That save prevented things from getting away from the Flyers.
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He also made a huge stop on Sharks forward Alexander Barabanov. Barabanov tried to go around the pad of Sandstrom but the young goaltender said no and kicked out his pad to once again keep it a one goal game.
Beezer Buzzing
The Flyers failed to score much over the course of the four game road trip. They were outscored 16-8 in those four games. One forward who did produce offensively was 21-year-old Joel Farabee.
Over the course of four games, Farabee registered four points. He scored two goals and assisted on two others. In other words, he factored into four of the Flyers eight goals scored.
Farabee, who was drafted with 14th overall pick by the Flyers back in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, is looked at as someone who can produce high offensive numbers for a very long time for the Flyers. So far this season, including Thursday nights game versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, Farabee is third on the team in goals (10) and fifth on the team in points (16).
Over the course of the road trip, Farabee looked confident with the puck on his stick. That’s when he’s at his best. He was shooting the puck when given the opportunity and was going to the dirty areas in front of the net as well. He registered 8 shots on goal in those four games which was tied for fourth overall on the Flyers.
The 6′ 0″ winger will be called upon to be a top six forward for the Flyers for a long time. It’s easy to forget that he’s only 21-years-old. He’s only begun to scratch the surface.
Back in 2018-19, Farabee scored 20 goals in 55 games. He has 10 goals in 27 games so far this season. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before he reaches the 30 goal mark. There’s no doubt that the young forward is one of the players that Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers will look to build around.
